Automatic valve to check the waste of water



(No Model.)

- E. E. FURNEY. Automatic Valve -to Check the Waste of Water. No.236

Patented Jan. 4,1881.

' 71 42); asses:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELLIOTT E. FURNEY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

AUTOMATIC VALVE TO CHECK THE WASTE OF WATER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 236,151, dated January4, 1881.

Application filed March 15, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it concern:

Be it known that I, ELLIOTT E. FURNEY, of the city of St. Louis, in theState of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inAutomatic Valves to Check the Waste of Water, of which the following isafull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

My present invention relates to improvements on the devices referred toin Letters Patent No. 232,483, granted to me on the 21st September,1850.

The drawings are axial sections of the apparatus, except that the valveand the piston carrying it are in side elevation Figure 1 shows thevalve and its piston descending after the hydraulic discharge has beenclosed; and Fig. 2 shows valve and piston ascending, as they do duringthe flow of the hydraulic discharge.

I will first describe the parts in general which are found in my formerapplication,and which in the present have substantially the sameconstruction.

A is the outer cylinder or case, of any suitable form, with an indnotion-opening, B, and an eduction-opening, (J. At the inner end of theeduction opening or passage 0 is avalveseat, D, against which closes thevalve E, to stop the flow of water after it has flowed for a time. Iprefer to make the valve E of-some soft material-india-rubber forinstance; but this is not essential. I

The valve E is attached to the top of a piston, F, of greater specificgravity than water, and working freely in a cylinder, Gr, open at topand bottom, and which (the cylinder) I prefer to make vertically movablein the case A, being guided in the case by knobs H, attached to eitherthe cylinder or case and working against the other. In its lowerposition, as shown in Fig. 1, the cylinder rests upon the bottom A ofthe case. In Fig. 2the cylinder is shown elevated by the hydrostaticpressure, so that the water flows beneath its edge.

I will now describe the features proper to this application and thosemodified from the form shown in my former application.

The piston F has one or more circumferential grooves to contain tallowor other material, f, not wetted by contact of water, as by means ofsuch material, even if there is quite a space between the piston andcylinder G,

the water will not pass through the space not that pointand restrainingthe passage of the liquid by capillary repulsion there, and by thecapillary attraction of the piston below. By the use of the describeddevice f the piston may be made to work in the cylinder almost withoutfriction, because the piston need not be closely fitted to the cylinder,and because it is held in position strictly concentric with the cylinderby capillary repulsion. As a valuable result the piston may be made ofgreater specific gravity, so as to increase the rapidity of its descentin the cylinder on the closing of the hydraulic discharge.

It will be seen that the pressure of the hydrostatic over the hydraulichead has to overcome both the friction and the weight of thevalve-piston in the water, (that is, the whole weight of the piston and"alve minus the weight of water displaced and consequently for anydecrease in friction addition may be made to the weight of the friction.

I is a stop-ring fixed to the. interior of the cylinder G. lt arreststhe descent of the piston in the cylinder.

J is a piston working in the cylinderGr beneath the ring or interior ribI. This piston J is shown made in cup form, to increase its bearing uponthe cylinder without adding materially to its weight. In the top of thepiston J is a water-orifice, K, to allow the water to enter the spaceinthe cylinder between the pistons F and J to force the piston'F upwardwhile the hydraulic discharge is open.

L L are-perforations or orifices in the cylinder Gr, communicating fromthe interior of the cylinder to the water-space M between the cylinderand the case A. The circumference of these holes may be tangential tothe upper and lower edges of the piston J in its two positions, as shownin Figs. 2 and 1, respectively. The purpose of these holes is twofold:First, when the piston J is raised by the first flow of water on theopening of the cock or other hydraulic discharge, the water passesthrough the orifices L to water-space M; second, when the cook or otherhydraulic discharge is closed, the piston J drops and the water escapesfreely from beneath the piston F, through the orifices L,upward throughspace M, and into the top of the cylinder above the valve-piston F, sothat said piston quickly descends to its lower place. The position ofthe parts when the cock is opened and the flow going on is shown in Fig.2, and the position of the parts after the closing of the cock is shownin Fig. 1, the direction of movement of the water and the valve-piston Fbeing indicated by arrows.

It will be understood that when the valve E closes, the pressure beneathwill be greater than that above it. This would continue even after theclosing of the cock, and would prevent the piston sinking in the waterand opening the valve E. To meet the case I use substantially the sameexpedient described in the former application by the provision of asmall hole, 11, in the eduction-pipe above the valveseat. On the closingof the cock a very small flow of water through the orifice n willequalize the pressure above and below the valve, and then-the cylinderbeing heavier than its bulk of water -it will quickly descend to thering I.

The operation is as follows: The inductionpipe B, having been connectedwith the hydrostatic head and the eduction-pipe G with the hydraulicdischarge-pipe, and the latter pipe being opened either by opening thedischargecock or by other means, the water rushes through E and raisesthe piston J until the water is allowed to escape under said pistonthrough the holes L, and to pass through the space M to theeduction-opening C; but at the same time, since the pressure under thepiston J is greater than the pressure above the piston F by an amountequal to the weight of both pistons minus the weight of water they bothdisplace, the water will be forced through the small hole K and slowlyraise the valve E until it shall close the eduction-pipe G, and then nomore water is allowed to escape than can pass through the small hole n.Should the hydraulic discharge have been opened very wide, where theholes L have not area great enough to allow sufficient water to pass,then the pressure beneath the piston J will lift the cylinder G untilthe required escape has been provided under the lower edge of thecylinder. When there is sutficient head to allow it, the stop-ring Imaybe placed lower down, so that when the piston J is raised it willclose the holes L, and the whole discharge would be beneath the cylinderG. (In such case the holes L would only have a single purpose-viz., toallow the rapid transfer of water from beneath to abo e the valve-pistonF when said piston is descending.) Now, if the hydraulic discharge,which is still going on through the small hole n, be closed by theclosing of the discharge-cock, the difierence in pressure above andbelow the valve E will cease, and the pistons-J first and then Ewilldescend to their lower positions ready for another discharge to takeplace on the opening of the discharge-cock.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with the case A, havinginduction and eduction openings, and cylinder Gr therein, of theorifices L in said cylinder, and piston J, actuated by waterpressure todirect or stop the flow of water through the orifices, substantially asset forth.

2. The combination of case A, cylinder G, movable therein,water-orifices L, piston J, with opening K, and piston F, with valve E,closing the eduction-opening 0, all substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

3. The combination, with the piston F, of the circumferential surface orsurfaces J, devoid of capillary attraction for water, for the purposeset forth.

ELLIOTT E. FURNEY.

\Vitnesses:

SAML. KNIGHT, Gno. H. KNIGHT.

